Dear future President,

The United States takes the lead once again, but this time it’s not something to be proud of. We have taken the lead in wasting energy. Despite the growth of renewable energy sources the bulk of our power is still produced by fossil fuels, such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas which tend to lead to energy inefficiency. Not only are these energy sources inefficient, but they’re also not going to last forever making it even more vital that we come up with a way to use energy more efficiently and use renewable energy.

Not only are we not producing efficiently, but Forbes Magazine stated that 58% of the energy produced is wasted; that means that the United States is really only using 42% that it produces which isn’t much. All this wasted energy is costing U.S. businesses and households 130 billion dollars a year. This money could be used to invest in, modernize in, and educate in energy usage in order to increase the U.S.’ efficiency.

The struggle to improve energy efficiency can start in our own homes, that is if it is made more affordable for the average American. Solar Power Authority, a company that works on installing solar panels on homes in the U.S., states that an upfront price for installation is around 20,000 dollars. Although there are payment plans available, a price like this would be intimidating to most. The money being wasted on energy inefficiency could be used to start the installation of solar panels in homes all over the U.S. If homes are made to be efficient from the start the benefits will be generous. Christine Tusher from Forbes magazine explained that the installation of solar panels can decrease a house's carbon footprint by an average of 35,180 pounds of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of 88 trees, and that's only for one home. In addition to being good for the environment efficient homes would help the economy. The money that people save on energy expenses can help them make mortgage payments, and pay for food, clothing, and other essentials.

Even though there are different energy sources available such as solar panels, there is a growing need for ways to produce energy efficiently. There is going to be a higher demand for engineers as our means of getting energy becomes more difficult. Engineers are the problem solvers of the world, and it should be encouraged that students go to college to become these problem solvers.

I would like to see this planet last and if we continue in the directions we’re going we will destroy not just our country, but our planet. When, not if, fossil fuels run out there will complete chaos if there isn’t a plan for an energy source. Society would regress.  There has always been tensions over oil, and when it starts to run out things are going to turn into a state of war. We would be in the dark in matter of speaking; things we take for granted would be unavailable: easy transportation, electricity, running water, and many products that require fossil fuels to be made such as toothpaste. We can’t keep going this direction. We can’t ignore the fact that we’ve only got a few more generations left of our current energy source. We can’t keep wasting money on inefficiency when we need that money to start fixing the problem. We need to educate our population on being energy smart. We can  continue to make small improvements like always turning the lights off, and fixing a faucet with a drip, but we have to consider the big picture.

Alivia K